Tesla Sues Top Gear

[enkrypt3d]

I went solar and made sure my system produced enough juice to cover charging an electric car...just in case one would finally get made that meets my criteria. I just want a cheap, no-frills, short range (100 mile range is fine) commuter car that has a lot of zip and doesn't look like ass. I do like the Tesla Roadster, just not its price. Would I ever get rid of my gasoline powered sports car? No way!

Incidentally, I leased my system through Solar City...one of Elon Musk's companies.

Nice setup! How much power can you pull from those things?

 

[goa360]

U.S is responsible for high petrol(that is correct) prices in U.S not OPAC/any others. We(90%) want petrol to be cheap and 10% wants it high. We lost and live with it!

Alternate energy? cycle going to repeat just in a different way.

90% suckers!

 

[akira3d]

Nice setup! How much power can you pull from those things?

I've only had the panels since November. The best day thus far has produced over 50kWh of electricity and I suspect output will continue to rise as the days get longer. Last month, I produced more than I consumed.

 

[Daedalus]

Last month, I produced more than I consumed.

@ 50kwh per day I would hope so! My total use is ~400 per month. Must be living large in them estates. A nissan leaf needs maybe .5 kw-h per mile driven. You ought to have pretty good capacity to add a e-car to your stable and not pay much to run it, as long as your commute isn't too crazy.

My parents got a system last year and they've been making more than they use ever since. The system is sized to their needs, but the calcs account for degradation of the cells over time.

 

[enkrypt3d]

I've only had the panels since November. The best day thus far has produced over 50kWh of electricity and I suspect output will continue to rise as the days get longer. Last month, I produced more than I consumed.

Woah! that's badass man...... whats the out of pocket costs if you dont mind saying? You also get huge tax rebates too right? I really want to get this setup for my next house.

 

[KrayziE RussiaN]

Did they send you a check? I heard that the electric company will actually send you a refund/credit if you produce more electricity then you consume with a solar panel setup?! Is this true? Or is your setup separate and not connected to your box (which I don't see how that would work)?

I've only had the panels since November. The best day thus far has produced over 50kWh of electricity and I suspect output will continue to rise as the days get longer. Last month, I produced more than I consumed.

 

[akira3d]

Did they send you a check? I heard that the electric company will actually send you a refund/credit if you produce more electricity then you consume with a solar panel setup?! Is this true? Or is your setup separate and not connected to your box (which I don't see how that would work)?

This is how it works:

You stay with your current electricity provider and your home continues to draw power from the grid. The solar panels are hooked up to an inverter that feeds power to the house and excess generated electricity to the grid. Staying hooked to the grid guarantees that you have no interruption of power whenever the panels do not receive enough sun to generate a sufficient amount of energy for your home, but does mean you are still susceptible to blackouts when the grid goes down (which is lame). Both consumption and production are monitored by your power meter...and the indicator does move backwards when the system produces more power than the house consumes. Solar City provides the means for monitoring such data online.

The goal is to have a system that produces enough excess energy when it can (during the more expensive peak hours) to offset any usage when it cannot (during the evening, storms, etc). At the end of the billing period, excess energy is credited, but only against power usage in subsequent billing periods for up to a year (carry over policy apparently varies depending upon the provider). Our bills have been a buck or two since the system was switched on...even with a credit...since the credit only applies to power usage and not towards other fees and services. I am fairly certain SCE does not send a check at the end of the annual billing period, but have heard that some do.

Our system is definitely producing more power as the days get longer and sunnier. AC usage will probably offset some of that credit during the summer months.

You ought to have pretty good capacity to add a e-car to your stable and not pay much to run it, as long as your commute isn't too crazy.

We sized our system based on our usage during a summer when I was not working (i.e. home nearly 24-7, on my computer, running the AC) plus what it would take for charging a vehicle overnight. One of my coworkers owns the Leaf, but I cannot get past the Leaf's looks to own one (I much preferred his Mini E). From monitoring our usage, we now know exactly what our biggest offender is...our pool pump!

BTW, once you go solar, you immediately start looking at everyone's roof as a missed opportunity for energy production...especially in Southern California.